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“That makes no sense,” Emily says. “Unless she had access to the auction house herself, how could she have let Gideon in?”
Gunn groans and rubs his temples. “Yeah, sounded stupid even to my ears.”
Carina taps the table with a finger as she observes Skye, but she says nothing. Simply watches her. And that is more telling to me than anything anyone could have said. She suspects Skye of something.
So I watch Skye carefully as I say, “Skye doesn’t have access to any of my businesses. Just my home.”
“And your bed.” Carina only says three words, yet they’re full of so much meaning.
Skye’s breathing changes almost imperceptibly as she bores a hole into her plate with her gaze.
“Gideon has been a part of the black-market art scene for a while,” Emily adds. “He had dealings with my father before we knew who he really was. So it’s likely he would have already been familiar with Maxton House. I was. He could have been working on getting in for a long time.”
“Would he have also been familiar with Asta?” Carina wonders.
“Wesley Ritter brought her contract to me, not Gideon,” I tell her, still watching Skye. And she still doesn’t look up.
Luca narrows his gaze. “How do you know Ritter doesn’t work for Black?”
I can’t answer the question, because the truth is, I don’t. Wes is a very well-connected man. It’s not out of the realm of possibility that he’d have run into Gideon at some point. But I simply never had a reason to put those two things together.
“What does the contract say?” Carina asks.
“That I’ll provide protection in exchange for anything I want from her.”
“Anything?” Gunn whistles. “Damn.”
“What about money?” Carina continues her line of questioning. “Was she getting money?”
“Money?” I frown.
“Do you think she’s being blackmailed?” Luca asks.
“Stop talking about me like I’m not here!” Skye shouts, slamming her palms onto the table as she stands. “You’re trying to figure out something that isn’t possible to because of how fucking ludicrous it is!” She drops her face into her hands and sighs.
“Are you involved with Gideon?” Carina pushes.
“I didn’t let him into the club, if that’s what you’re asking.”
“It’s not.”
Skye lifts her gaze and sighs again, and, suddenly, it all makes sense. Why someone would choose to sell herself at Asta when it’s not a kink. Why her eyes searched the room wildly as she was being auctioned but settled on me the moment they locked with mine. And why she was so afraid of Gideon when he showed up. Only, it wasn’t fear of him. It was fear of being discovered.
“Gideon set me up,” I speak the last thought that passes through my mind. “It wasn’t me you sold yourself to. It was him all along. You sold yourself to him in exchange for protection.”
“Notmyprotection.” She looks at me, her gray eyes wide and pleading. “He has my sister.”
I stand too, anger and jealousy rising in my chest at the thought of what Skye might have done with Gideon. “So, what? He sent you to me as a spy in return for your safety?”
“It wasn’t about me,” she retorts. “I don’t give a damn about myself. I have to tell him where your father is, or he will kill Maisie!”
“Oh God.” Emily leans into Noah, and he wraps an arm around her.
I’m nose-to-nose with Skye, our gazes locked in silent communication even as we speak with words. “So you’d have him kill my father instead?”
“It’s not like that.”
“Then please explain to me what it’s like?”
